The Whale Cottage Portfolio is weathering the
recession, and its close to 50 % reduced winter
specials, combined with a third season of summer
rates frozen at the 2007 level, are providing a
steady flow of bookings, including for the 2010
World Cup.

We are once again grateful to the Reserve Bank for
another 1 % cut in the interest rate, now down to
7,5 %, for lightening the bond repayment load,
thereby making the winter specials and the summer
rate freeze possible. Two further 0,5 % interest
rate cuts are being forecast by economists for the
next 6 months.

The blogging strategies of the Whale Cottage
Portfolio were incorporated into a blog post of Hotel Marketing Strategies, reflecting how six
different hotels, including Whale Cottage and five
American hotels, attract readers to their blogs (www.hotelmarketingstrategies.com).
The input by Whale Cottage will also be incorporated
in an e-book on hotel marketing and blogging, to be
published in the USA. Whale Cottage has learnt to
Twitter, and posts Tweets to attract new readers to
the WhaleTales blog:
http://twitter.com/whalecottage.

Whale Cottage Camps Bay hosted three film producers
who are filming a documentary about our country, to
be aired on ARTE, a French-German TV channel.

Whale Cottage
Franschhoek was the proud sponsor of
Professor Elwin Jenkins, a speaker at the
Franschhoek Literary Festival in May, which
was a huge success, despite extremely heavy
rain.The
accommodation for Kobus Moolman, who read his poetry
accompanied by talented pianist Christopher Duigan,
was also sponsored by Whale Cottage.

Whale Cottage Franschhoek hosted the accommodation
for the editor of Wine Tourism News. “Nicci
raved about jumping into your stunning ball and claw
bath! She said she had never seen such a welcoming

sight in her life!
She raved about Whale Cottage
saying that it felt like she was in a real seaside
cottage! She loved it!” was the fabulous feedback we
received!

Sport
tourism
is top
of mind,
with the
Confederations
Cup, a
precursor
to the
2010
World
Cup, and
the
British
and
Irish
Lions
rugby
tour
creating
a feast
for
sport
fans and
the
tourism
industry.

Didi
Moyle,
acting
CEO of
SA
Tourism,
welcomed
the
players
and fans
attending
the
Confederations
Cup.
“Let the
games
begin”,
she
said.
The
Confederations
Cup runs
until 28
June,
and will
be
played
in
Johannesburg,
Rustenburg,
Bloemfontein
and
Pretoria.
“South
African
Tourism
welcomes
players
and fans
to South
Africa.
We’re
excited
about
the
tournament,
not only
because
it
offers
our
industry
a truly
incredible
opportunity
to
showcase
our
destination,
but also
because
it gives
us a
chance
to show
off our
infrastructure
and to
have our
visitors
witness
the
effort
that we
have put
into
preparing
for this
world
class
event,”
she
added,
as
reported
in
Travelwires.
“We are
beyond
ready.
People
now need
to come
and
celebrate
with us,
this
magnificent
feat of
being
able to
host
these
sporting
events,”
she
added.

The
opening
Confederations
Cup
match
between
South
Africa’s
Bafana
Bafana
team and
Iraq was
broadcast
by SABC
1, and
more
than
half the
commentary
was in a
vernacular
language
not
understood
by a
large
part of
the
local
population,
which
could
lead to
a lack
of
interest
in
watching
the
other
games in
the
series.
The
Iraqi
team
coach
answered
questions
in
Spanish
after
the
match,
which
the
interviewer
also did
not
understand!

FIFA
President
Sepp
Blatter
visited
South
Africa
to mark
the 365
day
countdown
to 11
June
2010,
and to
open the
2009
Confederations
Cup, and
has
given
South
Africa
the
thumbs-up.
Blatter
met
President
Zuma and
Western
Cape
Premier
Helen
Zille at
Green
Point
stadium
in Cape
Town,
and
declared:
“South
Africa
is not
only
ready,
South
Africa
is
committed”,
reports
The
Times!
Blatter
congratulated
Zuma on
his
presidency,
stating
that he
was
happy
that “he
likes
football
and has
realised
what the
World
Cup can
bring to
his
country
and the
continent.”
Blatter
added:
“You
have the
confidence
and
trust of
FIFA but
also of
the
fans.
Everyone
wants to
be
here.”

Danny
Jordaan,
CEO of
the
Local
Organising
Committee,
praised
the
beauty
of
Durban’s
Moses
Mabhida
and Cape
Town’s
Green
Point
stadia.
According
to him
630 000
tickets
have
been
sold for
the 2010
World
Cup to
fans in
188
countries,
half of
these
being
sold to
South
Africans.
The USA
and the
UK are
the next
biggest
ticket
purchasers,
with
roughly
70 000
and 43
000,
respectively.
Jordaan
also
said
that 70
% of the
640 000
Confederations
Cup
tickets
have
been
sold.

All
tickets
for the
opening
match,
semi-finals
and
final
match
for the
2010
World
Cup are
sold
out,
reports
the Cape
Times.
Team-specific
tickets
for
England,
Brazil,
Argentina,
Australia,
Ireland
and the
Netherlands
are also
sold
out, as
are
individual
match
tickets
for
soccer
matches
in Cape
Town, Nelspruit
and
Pretoria.
The
second
ticket
selling
phase
has been
underway
since
the
beginning
of May.

The
attack
by SATSA
Chairman
Michael
Tatalias
on the
accommodation
industry
for not
signing
with the
FIFA
accommodation
and
ticketing
agency
MATCH,
and
accusing
it of
“holding
back” so
that
“they
could
inflate
their
prices
to rip
off
tourists”
(Cape
Argus,
12 May,
‘City
hoteliers
warned
against
hiking
prices”)
is
uncalled
for and
shows
how out
of touch
he is
with the
accommodation
industry.
SATSA is
an
association
of tour
operators,
car
rental
companies,
business
tourism
suppliers,
etc, and
only has
a small
number
of
accommodation
members.
It
therefore
cannot
speak
for the
accommodation
industry.

It is
MATCH
that has
been
greedy,
in
originally
dictating
to
accommodation
establishments
that
they
should
use the
2007
rate and
add a 16
%
inflation
factor
to this,
to get
to the
2010
rate.
MATCH
then
would
take a
preposterous
30 %
commission
on this
rate.
However,
with
inflation
in 2008
at
around
13 %,
this
rate
dictate
was not
acceptable
to most
establishments,
and that
is why
the
number
of rooms
offered
to MATCH
has been
so low.
MATCH
has been
viewed
critically,
and its
unfavourable
terms as
far as
the
small
accommodation
industry
(i.e.
guest
houses,
B&B’s,
self-catering
establishments)
goes,
but over
the past
year
MATCH
has come
to the
party by
becoming
far more
flexible
in its
pricing
(accepting
any
“fair
price”)
and
cancellation
policy,
mainly
because
they
have no
other
choice.
It is
still
taking a
30 %
commission,
now as
an
add-on,
making
accommodation
appear
extremely
expensive,
unless
it is
hidden
in
ticket/accommodation/transport
packages!
The
cancellation
of rooms
at short
notice
during
the 2006
World
Cup in
Germany
is known
to the
local
industry,
and
MATCH’s
dictate
to
supply
80 % of
one’s
room
stock
was
therefore
not
acceptable.
Even in
this
regard
MATCH
has
become
flexible,
and they
will now
accept
any
number
of rooms
one will
offer.

The
accommodation
industry
believes
that it
is able
to sell
its
rooms
directly
to
soccer
fans who
do not
wish to
be
ripped
off by
MATCH’s
rates.
They are
not
short-sighted
enough
nor that
dishonourable
to
“rip-off”
any 2010
World
Cup
tourists.
Many
will use
the
2009/2010
summer
rate for
June/July
2010,
instead
of
discounting
rates to
winter
levels,
as is
usually
the
case.
Ultimately
pricing
is about
supply
and
demand -
if they
cannot
sell
their
rooms at
the
summer
rate,
accommodation
establishments
will
have to
lower
them.
Tourists
are far
too
astute
these
days,
given
the
credit
crunch,
to allow
themselves
to be
“ripped-off”!

Cape
Town
Tourism
organised
the
ceremonial
kicking
off of
soccer
balls
from
Table
Mountain
on 11
June, to
mark the
365 days
before
the
start of
the
World
Cup.
CODA
performed
a new
song
they
have
written
for the
World
Cup, and
vuvuzelas
trumpeted.
The
Green
Point
Stadium
is
already
about 70
%
completed,
and will
be ready
for
handover
on 14
December,
says a
special
Independent
Newspaper
“1 year
to kick
off”
insert.
A
pedestrian
underpass
will run
underneath
the
traffic
circle
near the
stadium,
and the
Green
Point
Common
will be
upgraded.
Green
building
practices
are
being
applied
for the
stadium
construction.
The Cape
Town
International
airport
upgrade
will
have
been
completed
by
November.

Mmastsatsi
Marobe,
CEO of
the
Tourism
Business
Council,
has said
that
tourism
could be
one way
in which
the
South
African
economy
can be
stimulated,
as
reported
in
Travelwires.
She said
that
while
individual
accommodation
establishments
have
seen a
decline
in
occupancy,
the IPL
cricket
and
British
and
Irish
Lions
Rugby
tours
are good
for the
national
economy,
and
demonstrated
that
South
Africa
is a
viable
destination
for
sport,
business
and
leisure.
She
identified
a number
of
tourism
trends
that can
stimulate
the
economy:

1.

Local tourism is on the up, at the expense of international tourism. In the UK 20 % of British holidaymakers will travel in their own country this year.

2.

Going on holiday is a means of escapism from the doom and gloom of the effects of the credit crunch. “Tourism provides a psychological lift to the psyche of the public”.

3.

Green is gold, in that tourists are becoming more discerning in expecting their accommodation to be environmentally responsible.

Marobe
called
for more
young
persons
to be
employed
by the
tourism
industry,
as they
are the
future
of the
tourism
industry.
“…we all
have a
role to
play in
stimulating
the
economy
through
tourism
- keep
visiting,
keep
hosting,
and keep
investing”
concluded
Marobe.

The IPL
Championships
were
moved
from
India to
South
Africa
in
April,
as the
Indian
elections
in May
were a
threat
to the
safety
of
cricket
players
participating
in the
cricket
tournament.
The
cricket
championship
was
billed
as the
saving
grace to
prevent
South
Africa
from
sliding
into a
recession,
due to
the vast
sums of
money it
would
generate
for the
economy.
Rugby
hero
Francois
Pienaar
was
charged
with the
marketing
of the
event,
and his
marketing
budget
is said
to have
been R
150
million!

One
wonders
where
the IPL
billions
went, as
they do
not
appear
to have
benefited
the
small
accommodation
sector
in Cape
Town, if
the
guest
houses
in Camps
Bay are
anything
to go
by. The
Cape
Town
matches
were
played
late in
April,
and in
the ten
day
period
not one
Camps
Bay
guest
house
had a
booking
from an
IPL
cricket
supporter.
Talk of
the town
was that
the
cricketers
and
their
fans had
received
a
special
deal at
the
One&Only
Cape
Town.
During
the time
of the
IPL
championships,
few
Indians
were
visible
in Cape
Town.

FEDHASA Cape, the hospitality
association, appears to focus on
the restaurants closing down in
Cape Town, as opposed to
saluting the new restaurants
opening in these most difficult
times.

Bruce Robertson, owner of The
Showroom which closed down in
Cape Town two months ago, has
hopped back onto the restaurant
scene with the opening of The
Quarter, a tiny take-out
bunny-chow restaurant located
underneath the New Space Theatre
at 44 Long Street, just two
doors away from his The Showroom
Cafe. Robertson has his roots in
Durban, and made a trip to his homeground to learn more about
bunny-chow from the locals.
Bunny- chow is usually a street
food which is cheap and easy to
eat, being half a loaf of bread,
hollowed out and filled with a
curry food. Robertson calls it
the “quintessential South
African dish”. The restaurant
name refers to the quarter size
of bread he serves his
bunny-chow in. Robertson
describes The Quarter as a ”more
hands-on restaurant feeding a
bigger client base”. His bunny
chow fillings include crayfish
potjie, waterblommetjie bredie,
mussel and garlic pot, ‘welsh
rabbit’, oxtail, gemsbok, and
the standard mutton, chicken,
beef mince, venison and goat.
None of these dishes cost more
than R 65, and some dishes cost
as little as R 20. Extra
toppings, sauces and side dishes
can also be ordered.

‘Rossouw’s Restaurants’ guide
has published its 2009 edition,
and has awarded 3-stars, the top
rating, to thirteen restaurants
in the country. The Cape-based
3-star restaurants, according to
the Weekend Argus, are Aubergine, Bosman’s, Ile de Pain, Jardine,
La Colombe, Magica Roma,
Mariana’s, The Tasting Room,
Rust & Vrede and Zachary’s.
Other 3-star restaurants are
Butcher Shop & Grill and Thomas
Maxwell Bistro in Sandton, and
Ritrovo in Pretoria. Interesting
omissions are Overture, the
scenic restaurant of Bertus
Basson on the Hidden Valley
Estate and close to Rust & Vrede
in Stellenbosch, Terroir outside
Stellenbosch, and Bizerca in
Cape Town, all three restaurants
being on the Top Ten Eat Out
list. In his previous edition, Rossouw was demeaning to
Overture about the road to the
restaurant, which is a nonsense
criticism, and it should not
have clouded his judgement of
the restaurant!

FEDHASA has publicly listed
restaurants that have not closed
down when they went into
liquidation, over-dramatising
the severity of the effect of
the recession on restaurants -
Summerville in Camps Bay is one
such example, which is alive and
well and living, despite its
recent liquidation! So too
Theodore Yach, a city developer,
has been reported to claim that
200 restaurants have closed down
in Cape Town due to the credit
crunch, which is a nonsense
figure! Recently, the Cape Argus
incorrectly announced the
closure of the Sandbar in Camps
Bay, without checking with the
restaurant, and has yet to
publish a correction.

Despite the recession, the
hospitality industry has a lot
to be grateful for - bookings
are still rolling in for the
summer months ahead, for World
Cup 2010, and for the next
British and Irish Lions’ rugby
match in Cape Town on 23 June.

The restaurant industry has had
it good for many years, and the
number of new restaurants
opening up in the past few years
is testimony to the fact that
they have received good support
from Capetonians. Those
restaurants that are arrogant,
that do not deliver good
service, and that do not
understand that value for money
is key for customers, will feel
the economic pinch. Cape Town
has a seasonality problem, and
guest houses led the way many
years ago in reducing their
rates by up to 50 % in the
winter months. For the first
time ever, restaurants are
offering excellent winter
specials. An e-mail doing the
rounds lists 30 restaurants with
winter specials. These include
specials at Aubergine, Beluga,
Bungalow, Cafe Caprice,
Catharina’s, Five Flies, Myoga,
Sinns, Pepenero, Tank, The Food
Barn, The Kove, Tuscany Beach,
Buitenverwachting, Constantia
Uitsig, Cuvee, La Colombe,
Terroir, Cape Colony and Salt.

Four Camps Bay restaurants are
offering good winter specials in
particular: Tuscany Beach has
offered a
two-for-the-price-of-one for a
few years now, and benefits from
a full restaurant as a result.
It offers the special for all
dinners throughout the week, and
for lunches on weekdays. It is
also offering 20 % off sushi and
oysters, and offers a bottle of Seidelberg Chenin Blanc at R69
and a bottle of Merlot at R 80.
Bungalow is offering half price
tapas and cocktails between
17h00 - 19h00, and “live, fresh
crayfish” for R 99 (weight
undefined) and a most unusual
“Rainy Day Special” of “half
price off everything if it’s
raining”! The Kove is offering
50 % off every dish between
17h00 and 18h45, offers one meal
free for four ordered, a
two-course meal with a glass of
wine at R 100, and a 3-course
meal with a glass of wine at R
130. The Bayside Café offers
two-for-the-price-of-one.

At the ‘Tribute to Topsi’
function held at the Barnyard
Theatre in the Willowbridge
Centre last month, 500 foodie
and Topsi Venter friends
gathered to “honour a doyenne
and living legend of South
African food and a wonderful
human being”, and to collect
funds for a knee replacement
operation for her. A jointly
organised event by John Jackson
of African Banquet Collections
and the Chaine des Rotisseurs,
in conjunction with the
Franschhoek Lion’s Club, all
food was prepared and donated by
leading restaurants. A line-up
of excellent performers
entertained the appreciative
crowd and dedicated their talent
to Topsi. Nataniel brought the
house down with his stories
about his 30-year friendship
with Topsi, and when he
presented her with a rosary
(“instead of rosemary”)! Topsi
was praised by speakers for her
generosity. She answered that
she was as close to heaven on
earth as she could be, with all
the tributes spoken and sung to
her whilst she is still alive.
Topsi was described as the
“Madiba of cooking in South
Africa”.

The unthinkable combination of Nando’s
peri-peri chicken and Dom Perignon was
served at President Zuma’s inauguration
last month, to criticism from the wine
industry for the use of an imported
French champagne instead of a local Cap
Classique. Despite flighting a
controversial Nando’s ad campaign
mocking Julius Malema, head of the ANC
Youth League, just prior to the
election, Nando’s was awarded the
catering contract to serve 32 000
persons at the President’s inaugural
lunch on the lawns of the Union
Buildings in Pretoria.

Even Barack Obama celebrated his win as
presidential-elect with South Africa’s
Graham Beck sparkling wine, it also
having been served when Nelson Mandela
was elected president. The criticism by
Franschhoek wine-maker Achim von Arnim,
well-known Pierre Jourdan sparkling wine
producer at Cabriere in Franschhoek,
about the celebratory drink served, is
featured on the Wine magazine website: (http://www.winemag.co.za/article/achim-von-arnim-vs-jz-2009-05-15)

Franschhoek-based Chamonix wine
estate won the 2009 Santam Classic Wine
Trophy, as well as two gold medals, and
a GQ Choice award, in The Classic Wine
Trophy Awards in May, chosen by a panel
of French judges. Competition organiser,
Christophe Durand, said of Chamonix’s
success:” Their consistency as an estate
over the years has been amazing. I’m
very happy with their victory and the
outcome of this year’s competition as a
whole”. Simonsig won the trophy for best
sparkling wine for their Cuvee Royale;
Jean Daneel won the Best White Wine
Trophy for his Signature Chenin Blanc
2006; Groot Constantia won the Best Red
Wine Trophy for the Gouverneurs Shiraz
2006; and Klein Constantia won the Best
Sweet Wine Trophy for their Vin de
Constance 2004. The judges stated that
they were disappointed with the
sauvignon blanc entries, Southern Right
being the only gold medal winner for
this variety. Another Franschhoek wine
to do well at the Award was the La Motte
Pierneef 2007, which won a gold medal.

Cape wines won 34 gold medals at the
recent Decanter World Wine Awards,
one of the largest international wine
award events with over 10 000 wines
submitted by more than 2 000 wineries.
The Awards were presented at the London
International Wine Fair in May, reports
the Cape Times. South Africa
improved its success at the Decanter
Awards, with its 34 gold and 130 silver
medals. Tokara in Stellenbosch won two
gold and five silver medals; Cederberg
won three gold and a silver medal;
Fairview won two gold and two silver
medals; Kanonkop won two gold and a
silver medals; and Kaapzicht two gold
medals. In addition, Kaapzicht Estate
Steytler Vision 2006 Pinotage was named
the best South African Red Single
varietal in the over GBP 10 category.
Pinotage is a unique South African
cultivar, and has been criticised by the
international wine media in the past.

Stellenbosch wine brand Kleine Zalze
is the largest South African brand in
the British hospitality trade, according
to a survey conducted for ‘UK On
Trade’, reports Bolander. The
‘Wine On Premise UK 2009′ evaluated 12
500 wine lists of 560 wine distributors
in the UK, and selected Kleine Zalze as
the most sold South African brand in
hotels, restaurants, and pubs. The brand
is also ranked the 14th most distributed
wine in the UK. The report attributes
Kleine Zalze’s success to its wine
quality, packaging and PR.

Joanne Gibson was unanimously declared
the winner of the inaugural Wine
Writer’s Award for the Franschhoek
Literary Festival, for her article
in WINE magazine (SA, April 2008)
on the famous/infamous GS Cabernet 1966,
a wine as highly acclaimed as it turned
out to be controversial. The Festival
featured a line-up of top writers,
including Andre Brink, Max du Preez,
Shaun Johnson, Vikas Swarup (author of
‘Q & A’, which became the Oscar-winning
movie ’Slumdog Millionaire’), Justin
Cartwright, Christopher Hope and the
biographers Pippa Green (Trevor Manual)
and Jeremy Gordin (Jacob Zuma).

Nederburg will become the
official wine supplier to FIFA for the
2010 World Cup, being one of the largest
selling South African wines in “many
international markets”, reports Just-Drinks. The limited edition
range World Cup 2010 Nederburg Sauvignon
Blanc, Rose and Cabernet Sauvignon will
be sold for about R 100 a bottle in the
UK, Ireland, Canada, Sweden, Germany,
South Africa and selected other
countries.

Spier is the wine estate that
attracts the largest number of visitors
of the 588 wine estates in the country,
says Su Birch, CEO of Wines of South
Africa (WOSA). The estate offers
theatrical and musical productions, as
well as eco-experiences in interacting
with cheetahs and eagles. It has 62 000
hotel guests and 40 000 conference
delegates visiting every year, in
addition to the day visitors.

Wine tourism is a fast growing and
possibly the largest segment of the
South African tourism industry, and is
worth R 6.75 billion, says Andre
Morgenthal, of WOSA, reports Business
Report. Wine tourists are from
Europe in the main. Growth has been
particularly evident since Cape Town
joined the Great Wine Capitals of the
World network. The bio-diversity of
the winelands, the increasing number of
excellent restaurants opening on wine
estates, and the marketing focus on
wines have created the growth in wine
tourism.

The Great Wine Capitals of the World
network is looking for nominations for
its Best of Tourism Awards to select the
best wine estates in respect of dining,
accommodation, architecture, parks and
gardens, arts and culture, innovative
wine tourism experiences, and wine
tourism services. Participants from Cape
Town, Bordeaux, Bilbao-Rioja, Mendoza,
Mainz, Florence, Porto and San
Francisco-Napa will compete for the
awards.

The
first Southern Right whales have
returned to Hermanus and elsewhere along
the Southern Cape Coast, an early
arrival from the Antarctic Ocean, where
they have spent the last six months
feeding on krill.

Captain Paul Watson, head of the Sea
Shepherd Conservation Society,
an international whale
protection group, has incensed
South Africans in calling for a
ban on South African wine sales
until Mike Meyer, of Marine and Coastal
Management, labelled by Watsonas the
“Butcher of Kommetjie Beach”, be sacked
. He was reacting to

the slaughter of 44
pilot whales, which beached on 30 May at
Long Beach in Kommetjie, under the
directive of Meyer. Marine and Coastal
Management, the Dolphin Action
Protection Group, the NSRI and SPCA,
along with hundreds of volunteers, tried
to help the whales back into the stormy
ocean, but only 14 made it back to sea,
the others rebeaching. These are the
whales that Meyer had shot, a traumatic
event for the volunteers and members of
the public present.

Criticism of the events of the day are
that the public did not assist the whale
rescue operation by wanting to have a
look at what was going on, and by not
accepting instructions; no clear
directives were given to the volunteers
and public, as no one seemed to be in
charge of the rescue operation; and that
the volunteers were not well trained
enough. Better volunteer training and a
clear disaster plan should be prepared
in the event of future whale beachings,
say the parties involved in the whale
rescue.

Nan
Rice, of the Dolphin Action and
Protection Group, said of the whale
killing: “I feel quite sad, but it is
the right thing to do”. She explained
that mass strandings are stressful for
whales. Beaching takes place due to
‘navigational error’, she said,
according to The Sunday Independent.
Other reasons for beaching may be that a
lead whale may be sick or have
parasites, which can affect its sense of
direction, seeking out land. This may
cause other whales to follow suit, due
to the social bonding between whales,
reports the Sunday Argus. Rip currents
may also confuse the whales’ sonar. The
navy has denied doing any sonar testing
which may have led to the beaching of
the whales.

Watson’s call for the ban has been
described as a “vicious and personal
attack” on Meyer, according to the
Department of Environmental Affairs,
which is supporting Meyer’s decision.
Watson slates both Meyer and Marine
Coastal Management: “Meyer simply called
himself a scientist and proclaimed the
animals doomed, and thus gave the order
for execution. This man does not possess
a single scientific degree. He is a
bureaucrat, not a scientist, not a vet,
and not even a former student of marine
biology or any discipline involving
marine species. In short he is an
unqualified sadistic thug and an
embarrassment to the government and the
people of South Africa.” said Watson.

Nedbank Sea Point, for
excellent service and customer
care ... read more

•

The Sunday Times, for
excellent service since Wilma
got involved in Cape Town ... read more

•

Allee Bleue, for staying
open later on Mother’s Day, to
allow two customers to enjoy a
cup of coffee just before
closing time … read more

•

Defy, for replacing a fan
belt of a washing machine at no
charge, just after the guarantee
period had expired ...
read more

Webtickets, for refunding
monies when a customer
double-booked on its on-line
booking service ... read more

•

PG Glass in Plettenberg
Bay, for replacing a broken
window within one hour of
calling them…. read more ... read more

Sour Service Awards
have gone to the following recently:

•

Carne restaurant in
Keerom Street, Cape Town, for
having a stubborn and inflexible
owner and for telling the
customer to not return ...
read more

•

Nedbank Tygerberg Winelands,
whose management do not respect a
customer’s request to move her account
back to the Sea Point branch, and for
refusing to provide the bank CEO’s
contact details ...
read more

•

Rocketseed, for inadequate
product offering and rude service when
the customer questioned the e-mail
branding not working perfectly in all
instances ...
read more

•

Interior Collection in Hermanus,
for doing a bad job in a curtain order,
from getting the brief wrong, fitting
skew and sagging rails, and taking three
months instead of the promised one month
to complete the project
... read more

•

Limelight, for “allowing”
the company to continue being
featured on the WhaleTales blog
as a previous Sour Award
recipient, subject to a set of
prescribed conditions
... read more

•

Nedbank Corporate, for a
new website that is extremely
slow and rarely allows one to
print statements, compared to
its excellent “old” website
... read more

•

Karibu in the Waterfront,
for ripping off a group of
French customers in their order
of whiskys
... read more

The Sweet & Sour
Service Awards are presented weekly,
every Friday, on the Whale Cottage
Portfolio WhaleTales blog
www.whalecottage.com/blog. To
make a nomination for a Sweet Service or
a Sour Service Award, please send an
e-mail to
info@whalecottage.com.

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